AI has taken the world by storm, but perhaps its best use case right now is in productivity. Where do you get most of your productivity done? Well, it depends on what your job is, but for most of us, our work happens best on our computers — especially if our computers are NPU-equipped, and AI ready. Over the past year or so, companies from Microsoft to Apple have been building AI-powered tools to supercharge productivity, baking these features into their latest and greatest laptops in an effort to help users get more out of their devices.
Not only is AI super useful for productivity, but it can play a role in how you use your laptop to relax too. Here’s a look at the best AI laptop features, for both work and play, out there right now.
AI assistants at the push of a button
Many laptops now feature AI assistants that can be prompted from the keyboard.
Microsoft, for instance, was relatively quick to the AI revolution with Copilot, which is available in full force on Copilot+ PCs, like the Microsoft Surface Laptop. Copilot works kind of like ChatGPT and allows you to chat about basically anything you can imagine, including researching or coming up with outlines for that presentation you haven’t put together yet. Copilot+ PCs even have a dedicated Copilot button that you can press to easily bring up the AI assistant whenever you need it.
Improve your writing with the help of built-in AI
Laptops are the best tools around for writers, and having AI writing assistants built in seems like a no-brainer.
Mashable Light Speed
Apple, which may not have been quite as quick as Microsoft to bring AI features to its laptops, is making up for lost time now that macOS 15.1 Sequoia is available. All of Apple’s top-of-the-line laptops, like the new M4 MacBook Pro, have access to some Apple intelligence features. Many of these features are slightly more subtle than Microsoft’s, being easily accessible when you need them but not quite as in your face. A perfect example of this is Apple Intelligence’s new Writing Tools feature. All you have to do is highlight some text, right-click on it, and head to the Writing Tools menu item. From there, you’ll be able to have Apple Intelligence proofread text, rewrite it, or completely change the tone of it to be more friendly or more concise. It’s pretty handy for day-to-day use, and it’s great that it’s easily accessible wherever you might type text.
Create AI images quickly and easily
AI-generated images are becoming a familiar part of the online world, but tools built into the latest laptops are making it easier than ever to create them.
Looking for that perfect image to accompany the PowerPoint presentation you’re putting together? Or simply want to create something for fun to send to a friend? The Microsoft Photos app can generate AI images for that exact purpose. Using Microsoft Photos, all you have to do is come up with a prompt that describes the image you’re looking for, after which Photos will generate it and you can then refine it with additional instructions. It works quite well, and while you may have to spend a bit of time asking Photos to refine its creation, you’ll spend a whole lot less time than you would if you were designing the image yourself. Microsoft Photos is available on all Windows computers, however the image creation feature works on Copilot+ PCs like the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i.
Access and analyze your documents and files
If AI software is going to act as your “assistant” it’s going to need access to the documents you use to do business. This is part of the full service AI-powered laptop of the future.
Perhaps the most powerful thing about Google’s Gemini, for instance, is its ability to integrate with the rest of your Google services. So, you can ask it for information about documents you’ve written and to summarize those documents directly in the Gemini interface. Gemini even integrates with Gmail, so you can have the assistant summarize emails in a pinch without having to go through them all individually. Gemini features work best on so-called “Chromebook Plus” laptops, like the Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 714. These laptops come with a free year of Google’s Gemini Advanced subscription.
Avoid digging through settings
Who wants to dig through the settings menu on their computer to find every little setting? Both Copilot and Siri, powered by Apple Intelligence, can change settings for you – all you have to do is ask. Some advanced settings may not quite work just yet, but you can easily ask these assistants to do things like toggle Wi-Fi on and off, manage Bluetooth connections, and more. It works pretty well, and is available on both Apple Intelligence-powered computers, like the MacBook Pro, and even cheaper Copilot+ PCs, like the Dell Inspiron 14 Plus.
